Telus to spend $1 billion installing fibre optic Internet in Vancouver

Pedestrians walk past Telus promo at their downtown building in Vancouver Thursday June 21, 2007. (Chuck Stoody / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

VANCOUVER -- Loading a high-definition movie online can take about eight minutes using your current Telus Internet, but that time will soon drop to six seconds when the company installs a new fibre-optic network across Vancouver.

The communications giant announced the five-year plan for the upgrade to infrastructure on Friday, an enhancement Telus executives say will bring faster downloads, seamless video streaming and the ability for consumers and businesses alike to use new technologies.

"We are connecting our city to the fastest and most reliable Internet services available anywhere," said Telus President and CEO Darren Entwistle.

"Once complete, our fibre build will have an unprecedented impact on our city, transforming the way we live, the way we work, the way we socialize and the way that we raise our families in a digital world."

Some of the copper cables that currently provide Internet to homes and businesses in Vancouver have been in use for 30 years, said Tony Geheran, president of broadband networks for Telus.

"Now, with the demands of high speed Internet and bandwidth, we've really reached the edge of what you can pass over copper," he explained.

The new fibre-optic network will provide home Internet speeds of 150 megabits per second.

An average customer uses between six and 15 megabits now, but in a highly connected world, people are getting less tolerant of slow connections, Geheran said.

"People can see their own usage in the home, the amount of devices they have is going to necessitate greater and faster speeds."

Telus already has fibre-optic networks in 22 B.C. communities, including Port Coquitlam, Oliver and Salmon Arm.

The infrastructure is also being installed in Edmonton, and several other communities across Alberta and Quebec.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark said during the announcement that she's looking forward to getting fibre-optic Internet at her home.

"I may even be able to work at home without worries about security," she joked.

"And I may be able to get the Whitecaps highlights a little quicker than I do now," she said referring to Vancouver's soccer club.

The investment shows that the company has confidence in the province's economic future, and the network will have a huge impact on small businesses, Clark added.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said he's thrilled about the investment and believes it will be a big boost for the city's economy.

"For our startups and tech companies, it's a huge new platform to enable their work to accelerate and allow them to succeed rapidly on the world stage," he said.

Kitsilano and Shaughnessy will be the first neighbourhoods to have the fibre-optic network installed, and are expected to come online in March 2016.